Memphis Zoo
Memphis, U.S.A.
Official website: www.memphiszoo.org
Memphis Zoo
Created in April 1906, the Memphis Zoo has been a major tenant of Overton Park for more than 100 years. The city-owned land currently designated to the Zoo was defined by the Overton Park master plan in 1988. The Zoo is set on 76 acres, of which approximately 43 acres are developed.
Giant Pandas in Memphis
Memphis Zoo has 2 giant pandas: Ya Ya & Le Le
Ambassador Sasser brings pandas to Memphis
On April 7, 2003 a giant panda couple arrived at the Memphis Zoo for a ten year loan. Jim Sasser, the United States Ambassador in China from 1996 until 1999, played an important role in this panda deal.
Memphis Zoo had designed a special habitat called the China Exhibit creating an environment that would make the visitors feel like they are in China. It is not just a giant panda exhibit, giant pandas Ya Ya and Le Le share their three-acre home with several other species native to China. China became the first Memphis Zoo exhibit to be built as zoogeographical - a word that describes exhibits that feature an animal collection from a specific part of the world.
Ya Ya
Ya Ya (female) was born on August 3, 2000 at the Beijing Zoo in China. She lived there until she came to Memphis with Le Le on April 7, 2003. Her name means "girl" in chinese.
Le Le
Le Le (male) was born on July 18, 1998 at the ChongQing Zoo in China. His name means "happy" in chinese. He moved to Shanghai Zoo in September 1999 and stayed there until he came to Memphis with Ya Ya on April 7, 2003.
